NEWS BRIEFS FROM YOUR STATE MUSIC ASSOCIATIONS 

"Weekly Updates" is a coordinated effort by Wisconsin School Music Association (WSMA) and Wisconsin Music Educators Association (WMEA) to share a collection of timely news items that are relevant to both memberships while at the same time helping to limit the number of individual emails sent from each organization during summer of 2020.

Wisconsin Music Education - Outreach Meeting Summary
A special outreach meeting for K-12 music educators and administrators was held on Thursday, July 30 from 7:00-8:30 p.m. to review resources available and to provide a space for discussion about classroom, school or district music plans. The following summary information was created from that meeting to share with all music educators and administrators.
When scrolling through the presentation, notice that many of the slides have text or images linked to a website. Click on underlined text and pictures -- many are "live." Note that the PBS Wisconsin Education Re/Sound Project information will be available beginning August 18, 2020 on the website linked above (https://pbswisconsineducation.org).
 
To directly access sites and resources shared in the presentation, visit these seven links:
 
WSMA is in development to create virtual versions of the following programs for 2020-21.  More information will be available in late August 2020:
  • Virtual Solo & Ensemble Festival - Current prototype
    • 2 semesters
    • October - December District Festival / January State Festival
    • February - April District Festival/May State Festival
  • Student Composition Project - Current prototype
    • Expanded categories
    • Potential for Grades 4-5 participation
    • Composition workshops and experiences for educators and students
    • Contact list of classroom opportunities with composers and musicians
  • State Honors Music Project
    • 2020 Middle Level State Honors Project will announce students selected soon along with the plan for an October 2020 online experience.
    • 2020 High School State Honors Project held a virtual camp in June 2020 and is creating virtual ensemble recordings for an online broadcast the evening of October 29, 2020 
    • Middle Level and High School will continue forward with virtual opportunities until an in-person opportunity again becomes feasible.
    • Auditions for the 2021 State Honors Music Project will have virtual options and WSMA will review feasibility of in-person auditions in December 2020 for the 2021-22 school year.
When the aerosol study findings are released, another online session will be held to provide an opportunity to learn about and discuss the findings released around singing and playing wind instruments.
 
For questions about any of the above, please contact Executive Director Laurie Fellenz.
Wisconsin School Music Association (WSMA) is a non-profit service organization with member public and private schools. Students from member schools are eligible to participate in WSMA programs, such as District and State Music Festivals, Concert Festivals, State Honors Music Project, State Marching Band Championships and Student Composition Project. WSMA also owns and operates the Wisconsin Center for Music Education.

Wisconsin Music Educators Association (WMEA) is a membership association of music educators committed to providing quality music experiences for their students. Each year WMEA presents the Wisconsin State Music Conference (in collaboration with WSMA), leads advocacy for music education in Wisconsin, and offers professional development opportunities to support members. WMEA is the state affiliate of National Association for Music Education (NAfME).